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Regardless of those who claim open outcry trading will never die, it's only a matter of time before trading floor hand signals will forever join the list of dead languages.

Across Europe, Asia, Australia, South America and Canada it's already ceased as a form of communication with the closure of all derivatives trading pits in those regions. Only three futures exchanges in the US continue with open outcry trading at which fewer trades are executed in this manner along with less information flow to a shrinking number of floor staff. Eventually, these last remaining pits will close and end the functional purpose of the hand gestures that hundreds of thousands used to transact and share information since the late 19th century.

It is the aim of this website to preserve, for historical record, the hand signals of open outcry trading.

We are thrilled to announce the release of our book Trading Pit Hand Signals which showcases, in a print format, over 400 unique trading hand signals along with chapters describing the expansive history of their development and use on the trading floors.
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